Schools in Dumbarton, Alexandria and Helensburgh still have Grenfell-style cladding, it has been revealed.
The SNP has been accused of allowing children to be taught in unsafe environments after it was revealed 88 schools in Scotland have the dangerous cladding.
The combustible building equipment was banned across the UK following the fatal fire at the Grenfell tower block in London in 2017 which killed 72 people.
Vale of Leven Academy, St Patrick’s and Gartocharn primaries were constructed with the same material as Grenfell tower.
Also, Hermitage Primary, Hermitage Academy, Parklands School, Garelochhead Primary and Cardross Primary were built using combustible cladding.
West Dunbartonshire Council say all its buildings comply with national building regulations, with this type of cladding approved for use on low rise buildings in controlled circumstances, which is the case.
The SNP government pledged to spend £180million removing the cladding from Scottish buildings – however, their spending review confirmed that the bulk of this work won’t happen until 2025/26.
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie said: “It beggars belief that the SNP government still don’t seem to grasp the urgency of the situation with schools across my constituency having been constructed either using the same materials as Grenfell tower or combustible materials which were banned following the tragedy.
“After years of needless delay, they have finally accepted that this dangerous cladding needs to go – but they are still dragging their heels about making it happen and it appears it could be a decade before action is actually taken.
“I called on the Scottish Government at the time to ensure councils had the resources they needed to be able to make the necessary adaptations required to ensure buildings were safe.
“And every year that they fail to act is another year that people are left living and working in unsafe buildings.
“There is absolutely no more time to waste learning the lessons of the Grenfell tragedy – the SNP need to stop this dangerous negligence and speed up this programme.”
The cladding remediation programme was originally meant to be rolled out in full in 2022 – however this funding doesn’t start until 2023/24, with a budget of £30m, increasing to £50m in 2024/25 and £100m in 2025/26, nearly a decade after the Grenfell tragedy. Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary recently admitted in response to a written Parliamentary question that no surveyors and fire engineers have yet been procured to carry out single building assessments – the first step in replacing this cladding.
The information was found by the Scottish Conservatives, with 71 primary schools and 17 secondary schools in Scotland, along with public buildings such as the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, affected.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, Miles Briggs said: “People will be deeply alarmed and angry to see how many public buildings remain covered in high-risk cladding in Scotland today.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We expect the vast majority of buildings with external cladding meet Scotland’s stringent safety standards. The majority of Scotland’s schools are built to heights under 11 metres – making them lower risk by design.
“Fire safety of schools is the responsibility of local authorities, who should assess any risk and where necessary carry out remediation.”
A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “All of our buildings comply with national building regulations and continue to be safe for use.”
